Korean War veteran recalls life 60 years ago as prisoner of war

Helen Greene Leigh is shown with her brother, Pharis Greene. Leigh wrote the book “Sacrifices for Patriotism: A Korean POW Remembers the Forgotten War" about her brother's experience of being a prisoner of war for 37 months during the Korean War.

Ben Earp

By Jessica Pickens

Published: Saturday, March 2, 2013 at 10:53 AM.

It was the coldest winter in 100 years at 50 degrees below zero.

De-bugging himself of lice and massaging his feet to keep blood flowing became a daily routine for Pharis Greene.

For nine days in 1950, Greene was on a death march as a prisoner of war (POW) during the Korean War.

Greene’s experiences as a POW were recently documented by his sister, Helen Greene Leigh, in her book “Sacrifices for Patriotism: A Korean POW Remembers the Forgotten War.”

She started the book in 2008 and completed it last October.

“I would come over to his house every weekend and sit with him for hours. A lot of times he wouldn’t want to talk,” Leigh said. “It was hard for him to remember all of that. He didn’t want to remember.”

A teenage soldier

Born in Bostic, Greene was the oldest of four children. He told his mother if she had a fifth child that he would leave home. His sister Helen was born and Greene joined the Army when he was 17 in 1949.

After basic training in Fort Eustis, Va., and Fort Jackson, S.C., Greene was shipped to Japan.

Six months later, the Korean War began. Greene was sent in to fight in the 34th regiment, 24th division.

“The Koreans had tanks and new supplies from the Russians,” he said. “We had left over supplies and uniforms from World War II.”

There were 11,700 Americans fighting off 70,000 Koreans. As they tried to break through the enemy lines, an enemy bazooka hit the truck carrying Greene and he was blasted out of the truck.

“Something told me I needed to find my helmet and my rifle,” he said. “As I was hiding in a ditch from the enemy, a bullet hit my gun which saved my life.”

Taken as a prisoner

After the blast, Greene was taken as a prisoner of war by the Koreans on July 20, 1950, at age 18. He was the second youngest to be captured and was a prisoner for 37 months.

“We were lined up in a firing squad three times, but for some reason they always backed down,” he said.

The prisoners walked a forced death march, starting in Taejon and going north. They marched 125 miles in nine days.

“Winter was coming and we were in our summer uniforms,” Greene said. “We had no food or water, and when we did drink it was out of rice patties that had been fertilized with human waste so everyone got diseases.”

While Greene suffered overseas, his family worried at home.

“It changed our family forever and we never got over it,” Leigh said. “My sister became our mother, because mom walked the floor all night praying. Our brother had to help out with the farm with Pharis gone.”

More than 700 soldiers started on the march, and at least 400 died.

The soldiers who couldn’t keep up were shot. Twenty missionaries were on the march. One was a 78-year-old nun who was shot because she was ill. But more of the prisoners died from diseases or froze over night.

When they woke up in the mornings, the soldiers had to debug themselves of lice as big as ticks. Greene massaged his feet every morning to keep the blood flowing, but other men lost toes, feet and ankles due to frostbite.

The prisoners who died overnight were disposed of and the soldiers took their clothes for more warmth.

The death march ended in Chunggang, where they were forced to do calisthenics.

While in the camp, Greene dealt with traitors who told lies about other soldiers to get better treatment. As punishment he was thrown in Daikon holes, where radishes were grown and “rats as big as cats” would try to get in.

“My life back home started to feel like a dream,” he said. “Now, the war feels like a dream. If I had thought of home at the time, I wouldn’t have survived.”

He got intestinal worms while at the camp that would try to crawl out of his mouth at night, and he watched several of his friends die.

“Nobody has training for something like this. When you get into a situation like this, you look at immediate survival,” said Greene, now 81 years old. “I got through it from a lot of prayer back home. You didn’t know what you would face each day. Every day I just looked forward to daylight."

On July 29, 1953, Greene was released after the cease fire negotiation was signed. When Greene was freed, he sent a telegram to his family that said, “I’ve never been so happy to be an American as I was today.”

When he returned home to Forest City, a parade was held in his honor. Adjusting to normal life, he worked in textiles and picked up hobbies such as scuba diving and music to forget his war experiences.

“His story needs to be told. He went through hell and survived,” Leigh said. “I think before we send out young people to war, they need to know what it is like.”

Reach Jessica Pickens at 704-669-3332 or jpickens@shelbystar.com. Follow on Twitter at @StarJPickens

Want a copy of the book?

“Sacrifices for Patriotism: A Korean POW Remembers the Forgotten War" is availble on Amazon's website and through Barnes and Noble.

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De-bugging himself of lice and massaging his feet to keep blood flowing became a daily routine for Pharis Greene.

For nine days in 1950, Greene was on a death march as a prisoner of war (POW) during the Korean War.

Greene’s experiences as a POW were recently documented by his sister, Helen Greene Leigh, in her book “Sacrifices for Patriotism: A Korean POW Remembers the Forgotten War.”

She started the book in 2008 and completed it last October.

“I would come over to his house every weekend and sit with him for hours. A lot of times he wouldn’t want to talk,” Leigh said. “It was hard for him to remember all of that. He didn’t want to remember.”

A teenage soldier

Born in Bostic, Greene was the oldest of four children. He told his mother if she had a fifth child that he would leave home. His sister Helen was born and Greene joined the Army when he was 17 in 1949.

After basic training in Fort Eustis, Va., and Fort Jackson, S.C., Greene was shipped to Japan.

Six months later, the Korean War began. Greene was sent in to fight in the 34th regiment, 24th division.

“The Koreans had tanks and new supplies from the Russians,” he said. “We had left over supplies and uniforms from World War II.”

There were 11,700 Americans fighting off 70,000 Koreans. As they tried to break through the enemy lines, an enemy bazooka hit the truck carrying Greene and he was blasted out of the truck.

“Something told me I needed to find my helmet and my rifle,” he said. “As I was hiding in a ditch from the enemy, a bullet hit my gun which saved my life.”

Taken as a prisoner

After the blast, Greene was taken as a prisoner of war by the Koreans on July 20, 1950, at age 18. He was the second youngest to be captured and was a prisoner for 37 months.

“We were lined up in a firing squad three times, but for some reason they always backed down,” he said.

The prisoners walked a forced death march, starting in Taejon and going north. They marched 125 miles in nine days.

“Winter was coming and we were in our summer uniforms,” Greene said. “We had no food or water, and when we did drink it was out of rice patties that had been fertilized with human waste so everyone got diseases.”

While Greene suffered overseas, his family worried at home.

“It changed our family forever and we never got over it,” Leigh said. “My sister became our mother, because mom walked the floor all night praying. Our brother had to help out with the farm with Pharis gone.”

More than 700 soldiers started on the march, and at least 400 died.

The soldiers who couldn’t keep up were shot. Twenty missionaries were on the march. One was a 78-year-old nun who was shot because she was ill. But more of the prisoners died from diseases or froze over night.

When they woke up in the mornings, the soldiers had to debug themselves of lice as big as ticks. Greene massaged his feet every morning to keep the blood flowing, but other men lost toes, feet and ankles due to frostbite.

The prisoners who died overnight were disposed of and the soldiers took their clothes for more warmth.

The death march ended in Chunggang, where they were forced to do calisthenics.

While in the camp, Greene dealt with traitors who told lies about other soldiers to get better treatment. As punishment he was thrown in Daikon holes, where radishes were grown and “rats as big as cats” would try to get in.

“My life back home started to feel like a dream,” he said. “Now, the war feels like a dream. If I had thought of home at the time, I wouldn’t have survived.”

He got intestinal worms while at the camp that would try to crawl out of his mouth at night, and he watched several of his friends die.

“Nobody has training for something like this. When you get into a situation like this, you look at immediate survival,” said Greene, now 81 years old. “I got through it from a lot of prayer back home. You didn’t know what you would face each day. Every day I just looked forward to daylight."

On July 29, 1953, Greene was released after the cease fire negotiation was signed. When Greene was freed, he sent a telegram to his family that said, “I’ve never been so happy to be an American as I was today.”

When he returned home to Forest City, a parade was held in his honor. Adjusting to normal life, he worked in textiles and picked up hobbies such as scuba diving and music to forget his war experiences.

“His story needs to be told. He went through hell and survived,” Leigh said. “I think before we send out young people to war, they need to know what it is like.”

Reach Jessica Pickens at 704-669-3332 or jpickens@shelbystar.com. Follow on Twitter at @StarJPickens

Want a copy of the book?

“Sacrifices for Patriotism: A Korean POW Remembers the Forgotten War" is availble on Amazon's website and through Barnes and Noble.